Adults need vaccines, too -- but we're not getting them

A big reason for the alarming rise in whooping cough cases across the country is because too few adults are getting their pertussis booster shots, doctors say. But that's not the only vaccine that grown-ups are unaware they need -- nearly half of the adults in the U.S. don't know which shots the government recommends for their age group, according to a new survey by Walgreens.

For example, at least 1 million older adults a year in the U.S. get shingles, an extremely painful skin rash, yet fewer than 10 percent of people over 60 -- the recommended age for the shot -- have been vaccinated against it, research indicates.

The low vaccination rate for grown-ups is a serious problem, because more than 40,000 adults die each year from vaccine-preventable illnesses, government research shows.

Nearly half of adults in the U.S. are unaware of government-recommended vaccines for their age group, according to a new survey by Walgreens, and government research shows more than 40,000 adults die each year from vaccine-preventable illnesses. NBC's Erika Edwards reports.